What Is the Most Valuable Maintenance Skill?

There’s no consensus on the answer to that question, and what’s right in one department in a particular plant may have little value in another department or plant. One thing people with extensive experience in maintenance can agree on is the discipline to work methodically is critical to performance, regardless of your skill set.

A methodical approach is organized and systematic. A person who works methodically follows a plan or at least works in an organized and systematic way. For example, Bob always begins the job by walking through it and mentally doing a dry run. He always ends the job by cleaning each tool he used and putting it away. When he opens a cabinet, he identifies every terminal strip and bit of equipment in there, so he knows the environment he’s working in.

Some benefits of the methodical approach:

• It’s safer than any other approach.
• It reduces the likelihood of leaving behind a “failure time bomb.”
• Because you took the time to do the job right, you don’t need to take extra time to do it over.
• It prevents a cascade of errors and/or the snowball effect.
• With practice, you develop a smooth and efficient system. As opposed to reinventing the wheel or winging it, you spend considerably less time thinking and rethinking the job or task.
• Outcomes are more standardized, thus improving quality control.

·       Almost nobody has this discipline by default; nearly everybody needs to work at it. We are always tempted to take a shortcut from where we are to a major step or the finishing point. Here are some tips to help you stick to a methodical approach:

• Try to name any maintenance person who has received a trophy or huge bonus for rushing the work and then having to do it over. Good luck!
• If you struggle to stick with a system or procedure, write down the steps that make you impatient. Then for each step, ask what problem it prevents. What could happen if you skip it?
• If you are under time pressure and feel at the moment a given step isn’t worth doing, make a note of it and perform the step anyhow. Later, you and another person should review the procedure to see which step(s) can be eliminated or modified without a negative effect on safety, the environment, or quality.
• Think of a mentor whose approval is important to you and how you would explain to that person why you deviated from the plan.